After almost 29 years of outstanding work in the echelons of the Anguilla Public Service, Fabian Marcel Fahie has gone into retirement. Now that he retired at the age of 55, on Monday, July 31, he has left a legacy of commitment, hard work, vision, motivation and leadership which commentators and admirers say will be difficult to match.

Mr. Fahie (with award) with Director Timothy Hodge and Minister of Social Security, Mr. Victor Banks, Board Members and Staff

Mr. Fahie’s last appointments were Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance with responsibility for Economic Development, Industry, Commerce and Tourism and Chairman of the Social Security Board which functions under the ministry.

Two farewell ceremonies were held in his honour on Monday during which he was showered with accolades by the speakers as many persons in attendance nodded their heads in approval. One function took place after lunch at the Social Security Office where Board and Staff members were present and the other at Paradise Cove Resort in the evening attended by a mammoth crowd from the rank and file of the public and private sectors.

Maglan Richardson presenting gift to Mr. Fahie

Mr. Fahie was honoured at the Social Security Office where he served as the first Chairman of the Board for some five years from the inception of the system at the turn of the 1980s. He was again Chairman for the past five years.

“On both occasions lots of very important things were done for Social Security which have made it a very strong and sound system with a very enviable record among our peers in the Caribbean and, I dare say, in the world…with Mr. Fahie’s fingerprints on it,” said Timothy Hodge, Director of Social Security. He extended his personal thanks to Fahie for all he had done for the social security system in Anguilla and for the guidance he had given him at a time when he was young and brand new in the endeavour. “I must say that I have learned a great deal and together we have accomplished a great deal and I want to say thanks and wish you all the best in whatever you do.”

Handling a knife, not a pen!

The Hon. Victor Banks, Acting Chief Minister and Minister of Finance with responsibility for Social Security, lauded Mr Fahie for his contribution to the growth and success of the system. “Social Security is now entering a new period of development and that will be a time when it will be more actively involved in investments. We have put in place a very robust system…and I am going to ask Mr. Fahie to be involved in taking that process forward,” the Minister stated.

Responding, Mr. Fahie acknowledged the support he had received over the years from Ministers, Board members and Staff “because no man by himself, or woman by herself, can accomplish anything of a social nature.”

L-R: Marcel, his parents and sister, Bernice at Paradise Cove Resort

Mr. Fahie went on: “If I were to critique myself, perhaps the element that I have brought to the table is not so much technical knowledge. If anything, it is a sense of vision, a sense of commitment and a sense of ‘can do’ that we have it within us to accomplish...

If I may sum up all that in one word, perhaps it is do with leadership. Whatever I have done, whether with Social Security or elsewhere, I always sought to bring proactive leadership to the table. It is a situation where I tried to encourage people to look beyond what we do today to see if we can reach to something else a little higher.

Presentation of gifts from Ministry of Finance and Department of Information Technology

“As one of the tenets to my approach to work, and the things I do, is to say and work by this belief that if you come to a situation, you should leave that situation better than what it was. Change in someway, but change for the better. That has always driven me in whatever I do because I believe in perfection but I know we cannot be perfect. But if we believe in perfection, we will always seek to find some way to improve what we have.”

Assistant Director Human Resources and Corporate Services with the Social Security Board, Maglan Richardson, joined in commending Mr. Fahie for his service and outstanding leadership qualities and made two presentations to him. One was a heavy glass plaque with pillars, a symbol of his contribution to the development of social security.

Presentation of gifts from Ministry of Finance and Department of Information Technology

The ceremony, chaired by Pauleta Gumbs, Public Relations Officer, ended with a toast by Rosanna Browne, Research and Development Officer and the cutting of the cake by Mr. Fahie.

The second farewell ceremony at Paradise Cove Resort was chaired by Carl Harrigan, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, and one of Mr. Fahie’s close colleagues.

Mr. Fahie (with award) with Director Timothy Hodge and Minister of Social Security, Mr. Victor Banks, Board Members and Staff

Mr. Fahie’s father, retired Anglican Priest, Reverend Richard Fahie, who delivered the invocation, also gave a comprehensive and well-written biography of his son. He spoke of Marcel’s scholastic achievements in Anguilla and in St. Kitts and his eventual winning of the State’s Scholarship which enabled him to pursue studies at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica where he obtained a B.Sc. (Hons) in Economics. He then worked in St. Kitts in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Trade and Industry. He returned to Anguilla in 1976 and later that year went to Manchester University in England where he did a Master of Arts degree in Economics.

Reverend Fahie said the honour bestowed on Marcel at the ceremony made him and Mrs. Fahie proud parents. “We are proud of you because you have always carried yourself well no matter how testing the situation,” he said touchingly to his son. “We are proud of you because you have always been a pillar of strength in our family, someone we can call upon and rely on at all times…We love you because you have never been far away from home and when you visit us it is always a pleasure. We love you because you have never forgotten your roots – my roots and your mother’s roots. I am proud Marcel but I am not surprised. You showed your potential from an early age…May you enjoy a long and happy retirement.”
Minister of Finance, Mr Victor Banks, declared: “If there wasn’t a Marcel in Anguilla, you would have to invent one…I think that he has been the single individual who has made a difference in the economic development, the social development and the national development of this country both as a member of Government as a member of the Anguillian community. He has been a pillar in this community in every significant development in Anguilla that we can think of…”

Mr. Banks listed various national development projects in which Mr. Fahie played a key role including Social Security, the National Bank of Anguilla, ANGLEC and the Wallblake Airport development. “In the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, he has been a leader and he has been responsible for the development that we have today,” the Minister stated. He repeated his decision to have Mr. Fahie serve as an adviser in his ministry.

Speaker of the Anguilla House of Assembly, David Carty, speaking as a friend of Mr. Fahie praised him for his significant contribution to the culture of the island and generally to the economic and social life of Anguilla. “In my own life, he has influenced me and I am very honoured to have been told by him that I have influenced him because I would not have thought that possible,” Mr. Carty added.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Public Utilities, Kenn Banks, commented that Mr. Fahie “tries his best to ensure that when he has finished a task, no matter what grey lines he has to cross, that in the end, the right thing would have been done. That’s one thing which I have learnt from Marcel in the time we worked together.”

Another speaker was Dr. Aidan Harrigan, formerly Director of Economic Planning, now Mr. Fahie’s successor. He spoke of Fahie’s work ethic and said it was an honour and privilege to have served with him.

Other speakers were Lori-Rae Franklin, Chief Statistician, who told about the encouragement and leadership Mr. Fahie had provided for her; and Dr. Wycliffe Fahie, Finance Officer, who spoke about his brother’s love and guidance for his siblings over the years. “I do not know whether you realise it, Marcel, but you are our leader and inspiration…When you talk, we listen. That respect was not conferred on you. You earned it because you have always been there for all of us.”

The speeches ended with the presentation of gifts to Mr. Fahie by staff members of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the Department of Information Technology.

In his response, Mr. Fahie, a published poet, read four poems which expressed his thoughts on a wide range of matters relating to service and responsibility. He was grateful to all for their kind words and best wishes.

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